Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 204

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago, The Chapman Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1622

USA > Oregon > Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present > Part 204

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JOHN HARRIS. During his many years of residence in the northwest John Harris was one of the most popular and successful farmers in Benton county. Coming here in June, 1852, he had little in the way of influence or money to start him on the upward path, yet at the time of his death in May, 1890, he left a well improved farm of six hundred acres, and quite a large bank ac- count. That energy and resource were required to bring about this change no one doubts, and in the estimation of his many friends Mr. Harris was the master par excellence of these admirable characteristics. His remote ancestors were un- doubtedly tillers of the soil, yet his immediate connections had to do with military affairs in Europe, his father being attached for many years to the English army. Attaining to the rank of captain, the elder Harris participated in many of the historic battles of his time, and was captain of a regiment at the battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815. While stationed in Ireland his son John was born, October 12, 1828, and the father was afterward stationed in England, where both himself and wife passed their last days.

In his youth John Harris learned the turner's trade, and followed the same for a few years in England, coming to the United States in 1850. He came immediately to California, by way of the Horn, seven months being taken up on the trip. Two years later came his wife, formerly Jane Buchanan, whom he had married in St. John's Church, Liverpool, March 12, 1848. Ar- riving in California, Mr. Harris mined and pros- pected until 1852, and then came alone to Ore- gon, his intention being to investigate the pros- pects of a permanent residence. He was favor- ably impressed with the climate and general in- ducements, and forthwith purchased a squatter's

right to Uncle Billie Bragg's claim of three hun- dred and twenty acres seven miles southwest of Corvallis. The following year his wife joined him in the new home, and together they started housekeeping under crude but very promising circumstances. From time to time he added to his land, and finally had six hundred acres, a large part of which was under cultivation. His im- provements were the best known at that time, and he made money at general farming and stock- raising, having always fine Durham cattle, and the best of other stock. He took a great interest in politics, although it is not recalled that he desired or worked for official recognition. He was the first master of Grange No. 52, and did much towards furthering the interests of that organization. He died in 1890 at the age of sixty-one, and was survived by his wife until she was seventy-two years old.

The old Harris farm is now occupied by the only child and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harris, Mary, who is the wife of W. F. Whitby, the latter being manager of the property. Mr. Whit- by is an important factor in his neighborhood in Benton county, and is a man of leading char- acteristics. He was born in Canada in November, 1859, and came to Oregon in 1878. A practical and scientific farmer, he has introduced many innovations on the old place, and it is now one of the best equipped and most modern properties in the county. He is a Republican in politics, and takes a keen interest in local affairs both political, agricultural and social. Fraternally he is associated with the Masons, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Degree of Honor, and the Grange. Mrs. Whitby, who is the fortunate heiress of her father's large property, is very prominent in local undertakings, and exerts a special influence in the Grange. She held the position of Pomona of the State Grange for six years, and has been secretary of Grange No. 52 for twenty-one years. At the present time and for the past two years she has been master of the Grange in her home district, through her advocacy of its extension has become known throughout this part of the state. Mrs. Whitby is a cultured and very interesting woman, and has scores of friends in Benton and the surrounding counties. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and not only regularly attends the service, but contributes generously towards the support of the organization. She is the devoted and always sympathetic and helpful mother of three children : Isabella H., John Harris and Harold R., all born on the home farm in Benton county.

ALVA C. WHITE. Although comparatively speaking a newcomer to Benton county, Alva C. White has already made many steadfast friends,

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his capacity in this regard being characteristic of the typical frontiersman, whose familiarity with the boundless plains, strange and out-of-the- way places of the west, and human nature, ani- mated by the best as well as the opposite motives, has broadened his sympathies, taught him a fear- less adherence to truth and honesty, and given him a breeziness of manner at once attractive, convincing and sincere. A large and powerfully built man, with strong personal characteristics, Mr. White has been able to weather the depriva- tion, danger and adventure incident to a cattle experience covering many years, in the following of which he has gained a reputation second to none on the coast.

Claiming distinct ancestral advantages on both sides of his family, Mr. White was born on a farm near Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, July 17, 1847, his father, Uriah B. White, being a native of Norfolk, Conn., and his mother, Mary (Warren) White, having been born in Tarry- town, N. Y. The Warren family was dis- tinguished during the Revolutionary war through the valiant services of Gen. Joseph Warren, the hero of the battle of Bunker Hill, and a physician of high standing. Uriah B. White possessed lead- ing characteristics, and as a millwright and bridge builder gained a far-reaching reputation. At a very early day he settled on the western reserve, where he engaged in farming and bridge-build- ing, and in 1857 removed to Iowa, where he built the first bridge over the river at Des Moines. His family joining him in 1858, he continued to build bridges in the Iowa city, and at the same time became identified with many of its leading and developing enterprises. With his partner, Dr. N. P. Turner, he secured the charter for the first street railway in the town, which he started in 1867, and managed with great success for several years. The last years of his life were spent in retirement, and his death occurred at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife also died in Iowa, leaving nine children.

The oldest in his father's family, Alva C. White attended a select school in both Ohio and Iowa, and at the age of seventeen became identified with the border career which has made up the greater part of his life. Employed by a freighter to drive a team of six mules to Salt Lake City, he remained in that locality and interested him- self in the cattle business, going later to Denver, Colo., then to Black Hawk, where he was em- ployed by the Black Hawk Mining Company. In 1866 he returned to Denver and the Missouri river, making his way on horseback to Des Moines, where he operated a sawmill for a couple of years. On a small scale he took up the cat- tle business in Iowa, became deeper and deeper involved, and soon was feeding and shipping enormous numbers yearly. In 1872 he went to

Wyoming and helped to ship the first car load of cattle from that state, the following year en- gaging in cattle ranching on a range forty miles northeast of Cheyenne. During 1874 he shipped horses and mules to California, and in 1876 made considerable money shipping hogs to San Fran- cisco. He afterward disposed of this business and engaged in buying, feeding and selling cattle throughout Wyoming and Colorado, shipping large numbers to Iowa for feeding, and also ship- ping fat stock to the city of Chicago. In 1895 he went to eastern Oregon for cattle, and these also were shipped to Iowa, mostly to Dallas county. He has been shipping stock into Chi- cago about ten or twelve times a year, with un- abating success for the last twenty years. No name among stock men is better known than his, identified as it is with the finest and fattest cat- tle to be had anywhere.

In 1901 Mr. White located in Corvallis, and at once engaged in the stock business on a ranch of three hundred and twenty acres near Blodgett. He is contemplating making this his permanent home, the location being favorable to an over- sight of his many interests, one of the chief of which is mining. Contemporary with his carly cattle experiences was his purchase of mining claims in different parts of the west, many of which have yielded him large returns on the in- vestment. At present he owns mining interests in eastern Oregon, and still retains two of the claims which he bought in the early days of Cripple Creek, and which are located adjacent to the Stratton mines. His knowledge of mining is extensive, and has seemed to go hand in hand with that of cattle, although Mr. White has made the larger part of his fortune in the latter business. He is probably as well qualified as any- one to speak of the great cattle industry of the west, his own personal interests having been interwoven with its rapid growth for more years than the average man cares to devote to a roving life.

Through his marriage with Mary Clegg, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. White not only found a cultivated and sympathetic wife long identified with educational work, but became as- sociated with one of the prominent and very early families of that part of Iowa. Abraham Clegg, the father of Mrs. White, was born in England, at Butterworth Hall, and came of a fine old English family which dated its ancestry back many generations, and in honor of which Clegg Hall, and many small towns, were named. Abraham Clegg came to America in 1846 and settled in New England, where he married, and from where he removed to Illinois, in 1848. His family joining him in 1851, he removed the same year to Polk county, Iowa, and there purchased two hundred and sixty acres of land, half of

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which is now within the limits of the city of Des Moines. At the time of purchase the town con- tained less than three hundred inhabitants, and gave little promise of its present stability and size. The Clegg farm was an ideal one, undu- lating prairies and gentle hills producing a land- scape of exceeding beauty and harmony. Fine timber abounded by the acre, and when the plow turned up the rich productive soil, fine harvests were unfailing. Desiring to substantiate for him- self the reports of larger opportunities in the west, Mr. Clegg crossed the plains to California with ox-teams in 1859, and in 1862 returned to his home via the Isthmus of Panama. This was the beginning of extended travel between Iowa and California and Oregon, he having visited the latter country as early as 1869. In the mean- time he has made several trips across the plains, and for the last twelve years has made his home in Eldorado county, southern California, a most interesting and intelligent man, reminiscent of the byways and highways of this western country, and of the early pioneer days of Iowa. Away back in New Hampshire he married Ann Nuttall, who was born in Nuttall, England, and who died in Des Moines, leaving four children. Of these, Xerx is living on the old home in Iowa; Mary is the wife of Mr. White; and George and Ed- ward are living near the old home in Iowa. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. White, of whom Mary died in 1895 at the age of eight vears, and Georgie is living with her parents. Mr. White is a Republican in politics, and fra- ternally is associated with the Pioneer Lodge No. 22, F. & A. M., of Des Moines. With his wife he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Thus is told all too briefly the life- story of one of the class of men whose fearless daring and hardihood have developed one of the greatest industries known to the west, and which could never be carried forward on so large a scale in any other country in the world.

PROF. T. J. RISLEY. The cause of edu- cation has few better friends in Oregon than is found in Prof. T. J. Risley, one of the success- ful educators of the state. He has a thorough appreciation of the value of a systematic training in the practical branches of knowledge, and his influence has ever been used for the elevation of the standard of education wherever his services have been given. Born in Clay county, Ill., De- cember 24, 1866, Professor Risley is a son of J. M. Risley, a native of New Jersey, who later settled in Clay county, Ill., and still later re- moved to Iowa, locating in Blairstown, Benton county. He was subsequently interested in farming and cattle raising in Marion county, Kans., but finally, in 1875, located in Benton

county, Ore., where he purchased a farm and at once began its cultivation and improvement. His death occurred in eastern Washington. The wife of J. M. Risley was in maidenhood Miss Malinda Israel, a native of the Hoosier state. She is now residing in Palouse, Wash. The pa- ternal family comprised nine children, of whom T. J. was the third in order of birth, and nearly all of his brothers and sisters were interested in educational work.

Reared upon his father's farm in early life, Professor Risley interspersed attendance at the district school with assisting in the conduct of the home farm, and later attended Oregon Agri- cultural College at Corvallis. After spending one winter in the State Normal at Monmouth, he began his lifework as an instructor at the time being twenty-two years of age. For the past twelve years he has been engaged at his profession in his old district in Benton county and elsewhere, and wherever he has labored, all unite in a hearty endorsement of his ability as an instructor of a superior order. His interest in education is the keener from the fact that no fortuitous circumstances made his educational path an easy one, but on the other hand it was necessary for him to work his own way through school and college. About one mile from Al- bany Professor Risley owns a farm of fifty-six acres of the old claim which his father took up when he came to the state. In addition to carry- ing on general farming and stock-raising, Pro- fessor Risley is giving no little attention to horti- culture and gardening, and is meeting with suc- cess in his endeavors. In order to keep in touch with the latest ideas in agriculture he has allied himself with the Fairmount Grange, of which he is at present serving as chaplain. Politically he is a Republican, stanch and true, and in religion is a member of the Baptist Church of Albany. In 1902 he was nominated for county assessor, but did not win the election, and is now serving as a member of the county central committee. Fraternally he is identified with the Woodmen of the World.

In Benton county Professor Risley was united in marriage with Miss Maggie Hayden, a native daughter of the state, her birth occurring in Benton county. Two children have blessed the marriage of Professor and Mrs. Risley, to whom they have given the names of Wave and Hayden.

JAMES H. STEWART. Among the pio- neers of 1851 are to be numbered the members of the Stewart family, nearly all of whom had attained maturity at the time of their removal to the west, leaving pleasant homes to aid in the growing civilization and to benefit by the limit- less advantages offered in the new land. Today

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the Stewart family is represented by but few of those who experienced the trials and priva- tions of that long and dangerous journey, no direct members of the family being now living, James H. Stewart, the remaining brother, having died August 6, 1899, leaving to bear his name a widow and five children.

The father of James H. Stewart, George Washington Stewart, was born in Scotland, settling at an early date in Virginia from whence he removed to Indiana, rearing his family prin- cipally in that state, though he later made his home in Missouri. While a resident of the Northwest Territory he participated in the Black Hawk war, which resulted in freeing that sec- tion of country from the depredations of the Indians. James H. Stewart was born in Fount- ain county, Ind., June 19, 1825, and on attaining manhood he engaged in farming in Holt county, Mo., marrying, March II, 1845, Miss Louisa J. Thornton. Her birth occurred August 9, 1821, in Clark county, Ohio, near Springfield, she being the daughter of John and the grand- daughter of Coats Thornton. The latter was a native of England, and on coming to the United States he settled in Virginia, where he reared his family, his son John being born in that state. Later he removed to Ohio from which state John went to Tippecanoe county, Ind., and en- gaged in the prosecution of his trade, which was that of a brickmason. At the age of nineteen years he served in the war of 1812, being with Hull at Detroit. On removing to Missouri he located first in St. Clair county, and later in Holt county, having married Rebecca Robinson, a native of Kentucky, and daughter of Richard, whose residence was divided between the states of Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio, his death occurring in Missouri, where his wife also died three days later.

James H. Stewart was reared in Indiana, in which state he remained until 1842, when he re- moved to Missouri, where he engaged in farm- ing. Being located in the state from which so many emigrants were being constantly given to increase the population of the western lands, and through which so many emigrants passed, it was but natural that he, too, should become imbued with the idea of opportunities beyond the Rock- ies. Gathering together his worldly goods, con- sisting of two wagons, ten yoke of cattle, and much loose stock, all standard bred and very valuable, they started April 22, 1851, for Oregon over the old Oregon trail. They were constantly harassed on their journey by the Indians, who attacked them on Bear river, principally with the intent to steal the stock. During the attack Mr. Stewart was wounded in the hip, but succeeded in shooting the Indian that attacked him. One of their number, a Mr. Black, was killed during

the trouble, and one blooded mare was stolen; later, however, the mare was recovered from a man who had purchased her of the Indians. Upon their arrival here, September 22, 1851, Mr. Stewart took up a donation claim of three hundred and twenty acres, located two miles north of Corvallis, Benton county, upon which the family remained for many years. In spite of the floods of 1861 which washed away all of his stock with the exception of two heifers and one filly, Mr. Stewart succeeded in building up a modern farm, well equipped and well stocked, being now a very valuable property which Mrs. Stewart still owns. Some time before the death of Mr. Stewart they removed to Corvallis, where they lived a life retired from the active duties which had so long and so successfully occupied them. Politically he and his wife were in accord, both being Republicans. Personally, Mr. Stewart was a man of rare worth and nobility of charac- ter, his religion being a consistent belief in the Golden Rule. During his pioneer days in Ore- gon he made many friends, and when fortune favored him with a comfortable competency, won by his untiring efforts, he held his place in the esteem of the older generations, with an added place in that of the new. His death was a loss to the entire community.

Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, Marcellus died in infancy; Henrietta is now Mrs. Randall, of Corvallis, with whom Mrs. Stewart makes her home; Mahala is Mrs. John Stewart of Corvallis; Jehil is a resident of Salem; Melissa is the wife of W. H. McMahan of Corvallis; and La Fayette makes his home in Corvallis. The three last named were born in Oregon. Mrs. Stewart is a member of the Methodist Church. She has five children living, six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. James H. Stewart, who crossed the plain in 1851, were John. Mary, Rebecca and James, of whom the three first-named died in Washington, and the latter in Eugene, Ore.

WILLIAM GROVES. With one of the most interesting periods of our country's history-that of the mining excitement of the west-William Groves was actively identified. When the Pacific coast was largely settled by men who had come to the west to gain fortunes rapidly, when towns were but collections of miners' shanties and tents. before the era of legislation and of law, and before the introduction of the comforts of civili- zation here, he began his search for the precious metal and for more than half a century has lived upon the coast, making his home at the present time in Corvallis.

Mr. Groves is a native of Virginia, his birth

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having occurred near Batt, January 13, 1832, and when he was two years old his parents re- moved to Ohio. His father, Michael Groves, was also a native of Virginia and a farmer by occu- pation. In 1834 he removed to Ohio, settling first in Pickaway county, and later he carried on farming near Batavia, that state, where he died in 1887. He was united in marriage with Eliza Young, who was also born in the Old Dominion and died in the Buckeye state. In their family were seven children, of whom five are living. William is the eldest and the only one that came to the coast. He had two brothers who were in the Civil war.

William Groves was reared in Ohio and attended a subscription school held in a log building. A few days before the twenty-first an- niversary of his birth-January 13, 1852-he started for California, going to New York City and then on the steamer Aspinwall sailing for Panama. He crossed the Isthmus and then again embarked for San Francisco, where he arrived forty-five days after leaving New York. He rushed to the mining district on the Yuba river, near Nevada City, where he was engaged in placer mining, and in 1853 went over the moun- tains by pack train, through Jackson county, Ore., to Crescent City, Cal. Later he returned to In- dian creek, California, thence went up the Kla- math river and was mining on the Scott river until 1855. He was subsequently in the midst of the Orofino excitement, was at Florence and then in the Boise Basin of Idaho, prospecting and mining until 1864, when he came to the Willamette valley, establishing his home in Cor- vallis.

Here Mr. Groves built a carding mill and woolen factory on Oak creek, a mile and a half from the town, and while conducting his indus- trial interests he also engaged in farming. He carried on the carding business from 1865 until 1885 and then became connected with the water- works company of Corvallis. He has been asso- ciated with it from almost its inception and has been largely instrumental in the upbuilding of the system, which is now a credit to the city. He is acting superintendent of the plant, which has a capacity for pumping a million and a half gal- lons of water per day with a tank capacity of sixty thousand gallons. There is a pressure of thirty-five pounds in the tower, and it is seventy- five feet to the bottom of the tank. The pres- sure can be increased to one hundred pounds. In addition to his labors in this connection, Mr. Groves is still interested in farming and stock- raising.

In Corvallis Mr. Groves was united in mar- riage to Miss Emma Horning, a native of Mis- souri, who came to Corvallis in 1850 with her parents. Her father, Fred A. Horning, was

born near Berlin, Germany, a son of George G. Horning, who settled in Missouri, where he fol- lowed farming. F. A. Horning was a confect- ioner and followed his trade in Westport, Jackson county, Mo. In 1850 he brought his wife and their daughter to Oregon, making his way over- land with an ox-train, being on the road from the first of May until the first of September. He started for California, but changing his plans came to the Sunset state. Settling near Corval- lis he secured three hundred and twenty acres of land, now constituting one of the finest farms in Benton county, and thereon he carried forward the work of cultivation and development until his death in 1891. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Johnson and was a daughter of Charles Johnson, who was born in Tennessee and came with his father to Missouri at an early age, where he lived till May, 1850, when he came to Oregon, bringing his wife and eight children, five sons and three daughters. His wife and one daughter died on the plains while en route to Oregon. His oldest son, John W., was the first president of the State University, which position he held for eighteen years, when he resigned on account of failing health. Charles Johnson set- tled on three hundred and twenty acres of land, most of which is now included within the College farm. Mr. Horning was much interested in raising the money for the establishment of the college and did much for the furtherance of the movement. His wife died in May, 1868. Mr. Johnson, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Groves, once owned two thousand acres of land on and adjacent to the site of Kansas City, Mo. In the Horning family were eleven children: Emma, now Mrs. Groves; L. F., who is engaged in farming near Grangeville, Idaho; J. Robert, a stockman of Lake county, this state; Mrs. Cyn- thia Krape, of Portland; Thomas H., of To- ledo, Ore .; Charles, who is engaged in ranch- ing in eastern Washington; George, a farmer of Benton county; E. B., a grocer of Corvallis ; Alice, who is dean of the women's department of the State Agricultural College at Mesilla Park, N. M .; Jennie, the wife of C. D. Thomp- son, of Hood River ; and Fred, who was educated in Corvallis College and is now in Nevada.

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Portrait and biographical record of the Willamette valley, Oregon, containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 204

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Chicago, The Chapman Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1622

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago, The Chapman Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1622